Electronicore

History and character

"Electronic metal" refers to fusions of metal and electronic music. The two main currents are industrial metal and electronicore. Industrial metal emerged in the late 1980s from the Wax Trax! scene in Chicago: Ministry (The Land of Rape and Honey, Al Jourgensen's turn toward guitars), Godflesh (Justin Broadrick), KMFDM (who from 1986 used an E-mu Emax sampler to loop metal riffs), The Young Gods; Nine Inch Nails brought it to the mainstream (Broken, 1992; The Downward Spiral, 1994; The Fragile, no. 1 on the Billboard 200), followed by Marilyn Manson (Antichrist Superstar), Fear Factory, Rammstein (Neue Deutsche Härte), Static-X. Traits: repeated riffs often sampled in loops, sequencers and synths, distorted vocals, drum machines, a mechanical sound.

Electronicore emerged in the early 2000s: metalcore with heavy use of sequencers, samplers and synths, singing with Auto-Tune and screams, shifts from delicate electronic ballads to intense metalcore parts, fusions with trance, dubstep, techno, electro and dance. Enter Shikari (St Albans, formed as Hybryd in 1999, current name since 2003; Common Dreads in 2009 debuted at no. 16 in the UK) are considered pioneers and "kings of trancecore"; I See Stars (3-D) and Attack Attack! (the main U.S. contribution) followed; Asking Alexandria, Crossfaith, Issues, Abandon All Ships, Sky Eats Airplane, Bring Me the Horizon (from Sempiternal to amo and Post Human: Survival Horror, with tracks such as 1x1 featuring Nova Twins), Wargasm, and Pendulum/Sleep Token/Bad Omens in the more hybrid range.

Musically: metalcore instrumentation and breakdowns, trance synth leads, dubstep drops (wobble bass), four-on-the-floor or breakbeat beats, pads and arpeggios, pop-style in-tune clean vocals (Auto-Tune) against screams, hyper-modern and compressed production.

Scales and keys

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. In F: F G Ab Bb C Db Eb.
• Chords: i Fm, III Ab, iv Bbm, v Cm, VI Db, VII Eb.
• Use: trance progressions (i–VI–III–VII), synth arpeggios and leads, sung choruses.
• Real-world example: Enter Shikari — Sorry You're Not a Winner (riff and synths in minor); Crossfaith — Monolith.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. In C (drop C): C Db Eb F G Ab Bb.
• Use: breakdowns and industrial riffs (C–Db), wobble bass on the b2.

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. In A: A B C D E F G#.
• Use: epic trance leads and V–i cadences in melodic drops.

Minor pentatonic (electronic hooks)

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7.
• Use: simple, recognizable synth leads, vocal chops, "dance" hooks.

Chromaticism and tritone (industrial)

• Use: mechanical, dissonant riffs (Ministry, Fear Factory, Nine Inch Nails: minor seconds, tritones and synth clusters).
• Real-world example: Nine Inch Nails — Closer (chromatic atmospheres); Rammstein — Du hast (downtuned riff with very few notes).

How to choose

• Trancecore: Aeolian with i–VI–III–VII and harmonic minor for epic leads. Dubstep drop: Phrygian and low single notes. Industrial: chromaticism and tritone. Pop chorus: Aeolian or the relative major.

Harmony

Function

Two levels: electronic (4-chord trance/EDM progressions, pads and arpeggios, stable harmony) and metal (riffs over a pedal, single-note breakdowns with b2). The synth harmony often drives the song and the guitars follow in power chords.

Loops and sequencers

• Sixteenth-note arpeggios synced to the grid, sampled riff loops (industrial), synth bass with sidechain.

Drops

• Half-time dubstep drop: harmony on one note (or two) with wobble; trance drop with supersaw over i–VI–III–VII.

Tunings

• Drop C, drop B, drop A, 7 strings (modern metalcore); industrial in drop D/drop C or lower tunings (Fear Factory 7 strings).

Voicing

• Supersaw in wide voicing (octaves), pads in close voicing above the guitars, power chords below.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Hybrid: trance four-on-the-floor (kick on quarter notes, offbeat hi-hat) in the dance verses, metalcore punk beat and double bass drums, half-time breakdowns, half-time dubstep drops (snare on 3 at 140–150 BPM), breakbeat and drum and bass in some parts (Pendulum, Enter Shikari). Industrial: mechanical grooves at 100–130 BPM, drum machines and loops. Everything is synced to the sequencer grid.

Drums

Role

Acoustic drums (often triggered) added to drum machines and electronic samples: the acoustic part provides the metal energy, the electronic part the dance groove.

Kick

• Trance: quarter notes (steps 1, 5, 9, 13) with an electronic kick (909 or EDM kick) layered with the acoustic kick; metalcore: double bass drums, in unison with the chugs; dubstep: kick on 1 and on "2&" in half time.

Snare and clap

• Electronic clap/snare on 2 and 4 (trance) or on 3 (dubstep), layered with the acoustic snare.

Hi-hat and cymbals

• Electronic offbeat hi-hat (steps 3, 7, 11, 15) in the trance parts; acoustic cymbals in the metal passages; china in the breakdowns.

Electronic percussion

• Build-up snare rolls (eighth notes → sixteenth notes → thirty-second notes in the 4–8 bars before the drop), risers, impacts, reverse cymbals.

Interaction

• Synth bass sidechained from the kick; guitars in unison with the kick in the breakdowns.

Sections

• Electronic intro → metalcore verse → pre-chorus with build-up → sung chorus → drop (trance or dubstep) → breakdown → final chorus.

Industrial

• Mechanical drum machines, sampled drum loops, few variations, metallic and distorted sounds.

Typical mistakes

• Acoustic and electronic kicks out of phase; build-up without a crescendo; EDM and metal grooves overlapping without choosing which one leads.

Bass

Sound

Downtuned electric bass + synth bass (sine sub, reese, dubstep wobble with LFO synced to the filter), often with sidechain.

Role

• Unison with the guitars in the metal parts; in the drops the synth bass becomes the protagonist.

Relationship with the kick

Strong sidechain (trance pumping: 4–8 dB, release 100–200 ms); sub and kick must not overlap.

Examples

• Enter Shikari — Juggernauts; Bring Me the Horizon — MANTRA; Nine Inch Nails — The Hand That Feeds.

Harmonic instruments

Rhythm guitar layering (modern metal)

• Quad tracking: 4 separate performances of the same riff (never copies: you need the micro-differences for width), two per side: L100 + L80 and R100 + R80 (or all four at L100/R100 if you want maximum width).
• Different amps per side or per pair: for example Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier + Peavey/EVH 5150 (or their simulations), or the same amp with two different cabinet IRs (Mesa 4x12 with V30 + Marshall 1960 with Greenback). For guitars recorded live, Sound On Sound suggests two amps with contrasting/complementary tones panned hard left and right.
• Double vs. quad: double tracking (L100/R100) is more defined and "tight"; quad tracking is bigger but less precise. Thrash and technical death prefer 2 very precise tracks; modern metalcore, deathcore and djent often use 4 tracks or 2 tracks + re-amp.
• Always record a DI: it lets you re-amp and change the sound in the mix.
• Leads and harmonies: center or L30/R30 (third harmonies, one per side), with delay and reverb; the rhythm guitars stay dry.

Electronic metal specifics

• Metalcore guitars (drop C/B/A, 7 strings), often quad-tracked, synced to the sequencer; guitars that are "tighter" and with less low end to leave the sub to the synth bass.
• Synths: trance supersaw (leads and chords), pads, arpeggios, plucks, wobble bass, vocal chops; industrial with distorted synths, metal samples, guitar loops.
• Layering: guitars L/R, synth lead in the center, wide pads and supersaws (stereo), arpeggios with ping-pong.

Melody and vocals

Vocals

• Pop-style clean vocals often with obvious Auto-Tune (Austin Carlile and Sky Eats Airplane, Tyler Carter of Issues), alternating with screams (Rou Reynolds, Danny Worsnop, Oli Sykes); in industrial, distorted and filtered vocals (Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson, Till Lindemann with a baritone voice).
• EDM/pop melodies with repeated hooks; vocal chops in the drops.

Backing vocals

• Gang vocals, trance choirs, layered pop harmonies.

Effects

• Auto-Tune/Melodyne, vocoder, distortion, tempo delay, long reverbs on the clean parts.

Instruments

• Downtuned guitars (6–7 strings).
• Electric bass and synth bass.
• Triggered acoustic drums + drum machine and samples.
• Vocals (clean with Auto-Tune, screams).
• Synths (lead, pad, arpeggios, wobble), sampler, sequencer, live DJ/electronics.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Jup-8 V — Trance supersaw and pads: Trance leads and chords: two saws with wide detune, unison, chorus, open filter; layered with a slow pad.
• Prophet-5 V — Arpeggios and plucks: Synced sixteenth-note arpeggios and plucks (short envelope, filter with fast decay).
• Korg MS-20 V — Industrial distorted synths: Aggressive basses and leads with resonant filter and drive (Nine Inch Nails).
• Modular V — Wobble and sequences: Wobble bass: saw/square oscillators, LP filter with LFO at 1/8 or 1/16, distortion afterward; industrial sequences.
• Vocoder V — Vocoder: Robotic voices and synthetic choirs.
• ARP 2600 V — Noises and FX: Risers, impacts and noises for the build-ups.

Song structure

Form (3:00–4:30)

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Powerful, modern hybrid: the low end belongs to the kick and synth bass, the guitars occupy the mids, the synths the highs and the stereo field, and the vocals sit in the center above everything. References: Enter Shikari — Common Dreads (2009), Crossfaith — Apocalyze (2013), Bring Me the Horizon — amo (2019), Nine Inch Nails — The Downward Spiral (1994).

Kick

• Acoustic + electronic layer (check phase and alignment); EQ HP 30 Hz, +4 dB at 50–60 Hz, −6 dB at 300 Hz, +4 dB at 3–5 kHz; clipper.

Snare and clap

• Layered; +3 dB at 200 Hz, +4 dB at 5 kHz; short reverb (plate 0.8 s).

Hi-hat and electronic percussion

• HP 500 Hz; offbeat hat slightly to the right or left; snare roll with a rising HP filter.

Synth bass and sub

• Sub: mono, LP 100–120 Hz, sidechain from the kick (4–8 dB, release 100–200 ms).
• Wobble/reese: HP 80–100 Hz (the sub is separate), distortion, OTT/multiband; mono below 150 Hz.

Guitars

• Quad L100/R100 + L80/R80; HP 100–120 Hz (higher than usual, the sub belongs to the synth); −4 dB at 250 Hz; −2 dB at 3 kHz; LP 10 kHz; light sidechain from the kick.

Synths

• Supersaw and pads wide L/R (moderate stereo widener, check the mono), HP 200 Hz; lead in the center with 1/8 ping-pong delay and reverb; arpeggios with ping-pong.
• Sidechain pads and supersaw from the kick (2–4 dB) in the trance parts.

Clean vocals

• Auto-Tune (fast, as an effect) or Melodyne → EQ (HP 100 Hz, −3 dB at 300 Hz, +3 dB at 3 kHz, air at 12 kHz) → 1176 (6 dB) → LA-2A (3 dB) → de-esser → doubles and harmonies → plate/hall + 1/4 delay.

Screams

• HP 150 Hz, +3 dB at 2 kHz, compression 10 dB, saturation, tight doubles.

FX

• Risers, impacts, downlifters, reverse cymbals, white noise sweeps, sub drops; filter automation on the buses.

Buses and groups

• Electronics bus, guitar bus, drum bus, vocal bus; multiband on the "low end" bus.

Sidechain

• Fundamental: sub, synth bass, pads, supersaws and (lightly) guitars from the kick.

Master

• Target: −7/−5 LUFS integrated (EDM and modern metalcore); true peak −1 dBTP. Industrial: −9/−7 LUFS.

Common mistakes

• Synth sub and guitar low end in conflict; synths that are too wide in stereo (problems in mono); Auto-Tune on a vocal that was badly in tune to begin with and not edited; a mix with no "leader" between electronics and metal in each section.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Ministry — Thieves (1989); Nine Inch Nails — March of the Pigs (1994); Rammstein — Du hast (1997); Enter Shikari — Sorry You're Not a Winner (2006); Asking Alexandria — The Final Episode (2009); Crossfaith — Omen (2013); Bring Me the Horizon — MANTRA (2018).

Reference listening

• Ministry — Thieves (1989)
• Nine Inch Nails — Head Like a Hole (1989)
• Nine Inch Nails — March of the Pigs (1994)
• Fear Factory — Replica (1995)
• Rammstein — Du hast (1997)
• Enter Shikari — Sorry You're Not a Winner (2006)
• Attack Attack! — Stick Stickly (2008)
• Crossfaith — Omen (2013)
• Bring Me the Horizon — MANTRA (2018)